Brunswick board reviewing sales tax distribution

Bald Head Island asks for change in process

Published: Monday, July 1, 2013 at 11:10 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, July 1, 2013 at 11:10 p.m.

Brunswick County will take a closer look at how it distributes sales tax revenue among its towns at the request of Bald Head Island.

The board of commissioners voted 4-1 Monday in favor of forming a committee to explore options as to how the county distributes sales tax. The process is sure to produce many strong opinions from area officials.

"We are going to explore the issue," said commissioners' Chairman Phil Norris. "There will need to be some compelling reasons to make a change."

Brunswick County's sales tax revenue is based on a per capita figure, according to County Manager Ann Hardy. The committee will look at whether it is possible to disburse the money through property value totals or through a hybrid of property and per capita figures.

Hardy said she did not have figures for those numbers.

Bald Head Island officials could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

Commissioner Frank Williams, who brought the idea to the commissioners, said it never hurts to take a second look at a given process.

"The message we are giving to all the municipalities is we have no preconceived notion of what this should look like," he said. "This is their chance to look at how it is structured, and we will get feedback from them and they can tell us if there's a problem."

The committee will be made up of one representative of Bald Head Island, and one municipal official from each commissioner's district. The county attorney, manager and finance officer, as well as one non-voting county commissioner will round out the committee.

Commissioner Marty Cooke said he wanted the commissioner to have voting power, and was the dissenter.

The news of the committee was met with dissatisfaction from Leland Mayor Brenda Bozeman. The town receives the highest amount of sales tax income.

Leland Mayor Pro Tem Pat Batleman added a need for making a change for the right reasons.

"I think this is something they want to do because they feel that the equity of the system now isn't right, that's one thing," she said. "But if they're doing it to bail out towns that have had some issues, I don't agree with that, and that's something we need to be able to put our mark on and say, ‘Hey, there are some towns that could certainly benefit from having better financial management.'"

<p>Brunswick County will take a closer look at how it distributes sales tax revenue among its towns at the request of Bald Head Island.</p><p>The board of commissioners voted 4-1 Monday in favor of forming a committee to explore options as to how the county distributes sales tax. The process is sure to produce many strong opinions from area officials.</p><p>"We are going to explore the issue," said commissioners' Chairman Phil Norris. "There will need to be some compelling reasons to make a change."</p><p>Brunswick County's sales tax revenue is based on a per capita figure, according to County Manager Ann Hardy. The committee will look at whether it is possible to disburse the money through property value totals or through a hybrid of property and per capita figures.</p><p>Hardy said she did not have figures for those numbers.</p><p>Bald Head Island officials could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.</p><p>Commissioner Frank Williams, who brought the idea to the commissioners, said it never hurts to take a second look at a given process.</p><p>"The message we are giving to all the municipalities is we have no preconceived notion of what this should look like," he said. "This is their chance to look at how it is structured, and we will get feedback from them and they can tell us if there's a problem."</p><p>The committee will be made up of one representative of Bald Head Island, and one municipal official from each commissioner's district. The county attorney, manager and finance officer, as well as one non-voting county commissioner will round out the committee. </p><p>Commissioner Marty Cooke said he wanted the commissioner to have voting power, and was the dissenter.</p><p>The news of the committee was met with dissatisfaction from <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9971"><b>Leland</b></a> Mayor Brenda Bozeman. The town receives the highest amount of sales tax income.</p><p>Leland Mayor Pro Tem Pat Batleman added a need for making a change for the right reasons.</p><p>"I think this is something they want to do because they feel that the equity of the system now isn't right, that's one thing," she said. "But if they're doing it to bail out towns that have had some issues, I don't agree with that, and that's something we need to be able to put our mark on and say, 'Hey, there are some towns that could certainly benefit from having better financial management.'"</p><p>In other business, the board unanimously refused an undisclosed offer on the former <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9965"><b>Brunswick Community Hospital</b></a> site.</p><p>The commissioners also agreed to hand over control of the EMS dispatch center to the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office.</p><p>Also, the county will begin to hold a farmer's market at the government center 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursdays, starting on July 11.</p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9907"><b>Jason Gonzales</b></a>: 343-2075</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @StarNews_Jason</p>